Reviews - Looking for Smoke

641 reviews for:

Looking for Smoke

K.A. Cobell

4.14 AVERAGE

emsbookishness's review

5.0

mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

I need more people to read this book and talk about it!!! I love a good YA mystery and this one did not disappoint.

This book follows the four different povs of the four people who last saw Samantha alive. They all try to do their own investigative work to piece together what happened while the police begin to suspect them and their family members.

I really liked the use of the different povs and felt it really added to the mystery. Each character had their own perspective and suspects. Using what I knew from each character I would try to piece together what happened. There were also a few instances when the narrator would change right when it seemed they were about to discover something important, to keep the reader in the dark just a little bit longer.

They were also all unreliable narrators. Each of them had some kind of secret that they withheld (at least for a little bit) and they were biased about the victims, the suspects, or those they believed innocent. As a reader, I definitely got mislead a few times.

The mystery itself was really good! It took me a while to come up with suspects, but I did eventually pick up on some of the right clues. I was pretty surprised by the ending and I liked that not everything got revealed at once.

I also really enjoyed the descriptions in this book. I’ve never been to Montana and have had little exposure to Blackfeet (or honestly any native) culture, but was able to picture the scenery, regalia, and celebrations the author described.

This book also touches on themes of grief, belonging, self-identity, and family. As well as bringing attention to the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women movement.

Would most definitely recommend! Not only will it make for an intriguing thriller and mystery, but I’m sure it will touch you in some way.

Content Warnings

jxg255's review

2.75

dark mysterious medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

fhqkbiu3sjhrqh4gbqz9's review against another edition

5.0

challenging emotional informative mysterious sad medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

jocroman22's review

3.0

slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: N/A

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

adventure_in_books's review

DID NOT FINISH: 21%

It’s to YA for me! I liked where the story line was going but it felt dumbed down and to simplified i’m writing style that I struggled to get past it. I feel this would be a great book for YA readers of this actual recommended age.